Day. New. Thank you for every gift

Transcription

1 New Day January 2016 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17 (NIV) Thank you for every gift The cure from leprosy for thousands of sufferers, life-saving treatment of ulcers and wounds, artificial limbs to enable dozens of amputees to walk again, surgery to save sight and enable disabled people to have the use of their hands back These are just some of the benefits that people affected by leprosy received this year all because of you. From an overwhelming response to the Nepal earthquake to rallying to the Feet First campaign to help people in Mozambique, you have provided a lifeline for thousands of desperate people. In Nepal your generous gifts gave victims food, water and treatment for fractures and a range of other injuries sustained during the earthquake. Your donations also provided temporary shelters that have shielded whole families from the monsoon rains. Thank you for the thousands of Christmas cards that you signed and returned with personal messages of support for the leprosy-affected people of Africa and Asia. Your cards have been hand delivered to the hospitals, clinics and leprosy communities where people are being treated and supported. Your love has meant the world to many hundreds of people whose families have rejected them. Pictured above are people from Sri Lanka who are among those reaping the rewards of your compassion. Your gifts are funding work to raise awareness of leprosy in areas where children are particularly vulnerable to the disease. This means that we can identify symptoms of leprosy early on so that permanent disability and deformity can be prevented. Thank you so much for every gift. Please continue to keep people affected by leprosy in your prayers. They need you. Reporting back on the people you support

2 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. Psalms 103:6 (NIV) You gave Kalpana a future Your gifts have given hope and help to hundreds of women like Kalpana I still feel the pain of the day I left home like it was yesterday. No one stopped me. I could never forget how it felt to be rejected. When Kalpana Yadav arrived at Nav Narman leprosy colony carrying a small suitcase, she was a frightened young woman who thought she had no future. Cast out by her family, to protect the marriage prospects of her younger sister, Kalpana was heartbroken. At the leprosy colony in Naini, Uttar Pradesh, they asked no questions. Her tearstained face said it all. From her clawed hand and deformed feet, it was apparent the frightened young woman who stood before them needed compassion and urgent treatment. They found her a room, fed her and made her comfortable. She was taken to a leprosy hospital where a specialist prescribed multidrug therapy (MDT) a combination of three drugs she had to take for 12 months. It cured her leprosy, however, the damage already done to her hands and feet was too severe to reverse. Kalpana said: It broke my heart to leave home, but I had no choice, They didn t want me. Today Kalpana is a confident woman, optimistic about her future, thanks to the support she received made possible with your gifts. At the leprosy colony she met and married a young man and the couple now have five children. I still think of my family every day, Kalpana said. I feel the pain of the day I left like it was yesterday. No one stopped me. I could never forget the rejection. Kalpana now runs a small business with a group of women, selling bangles, tea and other items from a wooden hut on the banks of the river Ganges. She is also part of a self-help group set up by The Leprosy Mission to support others like her. She said: I ve come a long way since I was rejected by my family. When I first arrived here I could not have imagined, even in my dreams, that life could be this good. With the support of those who are helping us, I am certain life will get even better. Could you serve people affected by leprosy as a Trustee of The Leprosy Mission England and Wales? TLMEW is a Christian international development organisation, helping to transform the lives of people affected by leprosy in countries around the world. In order to strengthen our Board, we are seeking volunteers to join our team of dedicated Trustees. We are looking for passionate people with a wide range of experience, in particular (but not exclusively) human resources and fundraising. We would also welcome applications from those with overseas development experience, especially if that is with leprosyaffected people. In addition we would like to invite applications from potential candidates in Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. If our mission of supporting people into a life of dignity and wholeness inspires you and you have the skills to promote our objectives and Christian ethos, please contact Elizabeth Allen. t e. elizabetha@tlmew.org.uk Your gifts have given hope to thousands of people I would like to wish you and your loved ones a very happy and blessed New Year. What an incredible journey 2015 has been for people affected by leprosy. Your gifts have given hope to thousands of people around the world. An enormous thank you! Firstly, your quick response to the Nepal earthquake in April ensured families, who would have been left exposed to the elements after their homes were destroyed, received temporary shelters in addition to food, water and emergency medical treatments. Secondly, I want to thank you for your amazing response to the Feet First campaign. It will change the lives of thousands of leprosy-affected people in Mozambique protective sandals to keep numb feet from wounds, foot care groups coming together to support each other, training in farming methods that will give better yields, and savings schemes to help people support themselves. Your compassion has been truly humbling. Thirdly, your prayers and support were key to including leprosy and other tropical diseases in a new set of Global Goals that have been agreed by the United Nations. The new goals, which include ending poverty and hunger, also highlight the needs of disabled people and specifically mention Neglected Tropical Diseases of which leprosy is one. Neglected Tropical Diseases are suffered by the poorest people in the world. Because the sufferers are of low social status and don t have a political voice, health authorities have traditionally paid little attention to their needs. We will continue to lobby to ensure that the goals become reality for society s most impoverished such as those affected by leprosy. Without your support we could not tread the path that God leads us along. He calls us to cleanse those affected by around the world leprosy (Matthew 10:8) and we do that work together the staff of The Leprosy Mission around the world and each of you who give and pray. We thank God for answering our prayers through you, our supporters. As we face a new year with all the challenges it will bring, we pray for God s wisdom that we will be good stewards of the resources that you have been kind enough to place in our trust. We look forward to bringing back story after story of people s lives changed because of your faithful support. May God richly bless you. Peter Walker National Director Honouring the life of a loved one Many people choose to remember a loved one by giving a gift to charity instead of flowers at a funeral or memorial service. You can now honour the life of your loved ones with a gift to help people affected by leprosy. Or you might like your family to remember you in this special way. Please contact the Peterborough office to request an information card about arranging a gift in memory of a loved one Phone or post@tlmew.org.uk 2 NEW DAY JANUARY 2016 Contact us on post@tlmew.org.uk NEW DAY JANUARY

3 Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Isaiah 58:6-7 (NIV) In hillside villages in Nepal there s total devastation The haunted look on 12-year-old Kamal s face said it all the trauma of losing his mum, his dad s inconsolable grief and his home a heap of rubble. He just stared ahead and didn t respond to any of my questions, all the time I was there, said James Pender, who visited the family in Nepal. He was deeply traumatised and clearly grieving for his mum. Dad Krishna and brother Ashok, 18, have built a shack, using metal sheets supplied through your kind gifts, and bamboo salvaged from the rubble of their house, so they have shelter when the rain comes. For weeks after the earthquake on 25 April, the family lived under tarpaulin sheets. Krishna told James, Programmes Officer for The Leprosy Mission England and Wales, their tin shack was like a palace compared to the tarpaulin cover. James said: That was very humbling. It s the size of a garage, yet the family were so grateful. The boys mum Pushpa, 42, died instantly when their roof collapsed. Krishna watched helplessly as the walls caved in on his wife of 22 years. Unlike him she was not affected by leprosy and was the family s breadwinner. It is nine months since Nepal was struck by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake which killed some 9,000 people, injured countless others and destroyed over a million homes. The hillside villages were among the hardest hit with 90 per cent of homes destroyed. James said: The main cities and towns have had some repair and rebuilding. But in hillside villages and around Anandaban Leprosy Hospital where the poorest, leprosyaffected people live, the story is different. As I got close to the top of the hill I saw rows of tin Krishna, Kamal and Ashok shacks. When the guide pointed the village out all I could see were large piles of rocks. There were no houses. I could only imagine the horror of when the walls caved in. It would have been almost impossible to escape. It was total devastation. All eight houses in Krishna s village were destroyed. Five people died including Krishna s wife. The tin shacks provide scant protection from the cold and snow. Please, can we help them rebuild their homes before the snow this coming winter? Please help leprosyaffected people who lost everything in the Nepal earthquake Thank you for the wonderful support you gave to people like Krishna when the earthquake struck Nepal last year. Because of you, lives were saved. Your gifts sheltered people from the elements in temporary shelters. But now winter has arrived and families desperately need new homes. They need your help to rebuild their homes and lives. Your church or group can get involved too. Go to to find out more. Volunteers visit Nepal to see the impact of your donations Families who had permanent homes now cope in corrugated iron shelters. They have little enough, but to lose everything you have and then to lose your daily wage because the work is no longer available: all this while salvaging anything you can get your hands on life can t get worse. It s what Pauline Ratcliffe saw when she visited Nepal with a team of volunteers from The Leprosy Mission, to find out how the money they raise helps people suffering with the effects of leprosy. Pauline, who speaks to church groups in the Leeds area, was full of admiration for the people and was amazed they kept going in the midst of destruction and devastation with a resilience that cannot be shaken. The volunteers from around the UK visited Anandaban Leprosy Hospital and clinics where leprosy patients, and now earthquake-affected people, are being cared for. Regional Manager James Greig said: In the hilly and rural regions there was total devastation. What was heart-breaking is they ve not only lost their homes but also their goats, cows and sheep and have no means of earning an income. Their tin shacks are really hot during the day when the sun shines and at night it is freezing. They are going through terrible hardship. Here is a gift towards rebuilding homes and lives in Nepal Title: I am/we are giving 10 to pay for counselling sessions for someone traumatised by the earthquake I am/we are giving 20 to buy a toilet and sink for a new home I am/we are giving 55 which could buy a pallet of 500 bricks to get rebuilding underway I am/we are giving towards rebuilding homes and lives in Nepal Surname: Church name/ address: My address is: Telephone: * *I am happy for The Leprosy Mission to contact me this way. I enclose a cheque/postal order made payable to The Leprosy Mission OR Please debit my: Visa MasterCard CAF Card Maestro amount Card no.: Valid from (if available): / Expiry date: / Maestro Issue no.: Signature: First Name: Postcode: Date: I would like to give a regular gift to bring hope and restoration to people affected by leprosy, please send me a Direct Debit mandate. We will use your gifts to help rebuild homes and lives in Anandaban. If we exceed our target we will use your gifts to help other people suffering the effects of leprosy around the world. Tick here and make your donation go further with Gift Aid Please treat all donations I have made to The Leprosy Mission for the four years prior to this donation, and all future donations I make, as Gift Aid donations. I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my charitable donations in that tax year it is my responsibility to pay any difference. If you have bought a gift on behalf of a group please remember you can t Gift Aid it. Please make your cheque payable to The Leprosy Mission and send it to: Rebuild Nepal, The Leprosy Mission England and Wales, Goldhay Way, Orton Goldhay, Peterborough, PE2 5GZ * 4 NEW DAY JANUARY 2016 Contact us on post@tlmew.org.uk 16ND1 NEW DAY JANUARY

4 Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God s will for you in Christ Jesus. What your donation did for Munia 1 Thessalonians (NIV) Prayer is at the heart of The Leprosy Mission Foot care starts in Mozambique Every morning, across the world, Leprosy Mission staff and volunteers in hospitals, clinics, training centres and offices stop what they are doing to pray. Founder of The Leprosy Mission, Wellesley Bailey, said, Your gifts will restore the dignity of people disabled by leprosy and give them back their independence. The Mission has been born and cradled in prayer. It has been brought up on prayer; it has been nourished on prayer; and prayer has been at the bottom of its success since the first moments of its life. Prayer is as important today as it was in 1874 when The Mission was born. We are so thankful to those supporters who pray with us and for people suffering with the effects of leprosy, continually turning all that we do together back to the Lord. Starting from the next issue of New Day Prayer Diary Update will be sent out with New Day to supporters who wish to pray with us. It may be that you do not receive the Prayer Diary update at present and could use this to help you, your church or small group to pray. However, if you would prefer NOT to receive the Prayer Diary then please let us know using the slip below. Sending New Day Prayer Diary Update out together will help us keep costs down so that more of your donation can directly help people in need, and this will also reduce the number of mailings you receive from us. Through praying for leprosy-affected people and the services to help them, you will be bringing them and their needs into the throne-room of God. Thank you so much for helping to change hundreds of lives, breaking the chains of leprosy, and empowering people to receive healing, dignity and life in all its fullness. No thank you I would prefer not to receive the New Day Prayer Diary Update Title: Surname: Church name/ address: First Name: Postcode: The moment when two prayer warriors met despite being separated by oceans Thelma Jones, 93, has been running a prayer group for 60 years. That has included hosting coffee mornings and raising thousands of pounds for The Leprosy Mission. Mrs Jones, who is now in a care home in Birmingham, has also been praying for Bunmi Oluloto, Leprosy Mission country leader for Niger, and his family for many years. The pair met when Bunmi went to Birmingham during a visit to the UK. Bunmi said he wanted to thank Mrs Jones personally for her prayers and to hold a prayer meeting for her in the care home. Regional manager Allister du Plessis said of the meeting: It was a lovely moment between two prayer warriors separated by oceans and continents, but held together by the power of prayer! Contact Allister du Plessis on or to find out more about the Birmingham prayer group. We featured Munia in the October 2014 edition of New Day. The 25 year old was forced to leave her home in India after an uncle tried to kill her to rid the family of the curse of leprosy. She had also been beaten repeatedly because of the shame she brought on the family. With nowhere else to go Munia was living on a platform, begging to survive, until a stranger, who noticed the leprosy wounds on her hands and legs, took her to Purulia Leprosy Mission Hospital. There she was given food, a bed, clean clothes and treatment for her wounds. Sadly the ulcer on her feet was so far gone that surgeons had to amputate one of her legs. We asked you to support Munia, and others like her, to live at the Mercy Home a care centre attached to Purulia Hospital by making a gift towards her accommodation, food and care. The home is occupied mainly by elderly patients, but Munia says she is happy there because she gets a lot of attention being the only young person. Your donations made a tremendous difference to this young woman. Because of you she has a safe place to call home where she is loved and cared for. Munia has been given a wheelchair so she can move around the hospital grounds. Through our literacy programme at the hospital, your donations are enabling Munia to learn to read and write -a huge achievement for a woman who thought she had no future. Munia says that she owes her life to the kindness of strangers the man who took her to Purulia Hospital and you, because your generous donations provided the treatment she desperately needed and a roof over her head at the Mercy Home. Munia is very grateful and wants to say to you thank you, your kindness saved my life. You will probably remember the three-month Feet First campaign we ran last summer. You responded with overwhelming generosity and donations from people in the UK were doubled by the Government. It was a wonderful opportunity to help some of the most disadvantaged people in the world, and you seized it, meaning we can help even more people. Your generosity has already started to bear fruit. The work will not start in earnest until March this year, but the recruitment of staff and volunteers needed to get the schemes underway has started. A top priority in Mozambique is to help people suffering the effects of leprosy to protect their feet through self-care and wearing of protective sandals from wounds, as they can easily develop into ulcers and ultimately result in disability or even amputation. The project has started working with groups who look after each other s feet by learning to keep the skin on their feet supple through washing, rubbing away rough skin, and massaging the feet which makes it less likely to crack and stops infection. This is just the start! Leprosy-affected people in 89 villages, who have little food, will be helped to grow their own crops all thanks to your generous gifts. As well as providing sandals, people will be trained to grow more maize and beans to support their families and earn a living. We will make sure people have the skills they need and the know-how to farm in order to get the best from the land. We will also help them form savings groups so they can access microcredit, to improve their livelihood activities. This will help them to survive and will restore their dignity and independence. All of this which is now starting thousands of miles away in Mozambique is thanks to you. 6 NEW DAY JANUARY 2016 Contact us on post@tlmew.org.uk NEW DAY JANUARY

5 Thank you Georgie! Undergraduate Georgie Anstey is celebrating completing her first half marathon. The 19 year old from Oundle, who took park in the Great Scottish Run, in Glasgow, on Sunday is particularly pleased because she completed it in 1:28:30 seconds and raised 165 for The Leprosy Mission England and Wales. Georgie said: When I told friends that I was running for The Leprosy Mission, many people asked whether people still get leprosy. I was so shocked by that reaction. I want to raise awareness of the disease among my generation. Business leaders recognise that your gifts are changing lives The Leprosy Mission England and Wales has won the Social Enterprise category of the prestigious Peterborough Business Awards Peter Walker, National Director of TLMEW said: The work we do in caring for people affected by leprosy, who are among the most marginalised in society, is in answer to God s call. The event provided us with the opportunity to share the good news that due to the wonderful generosity of our supporters we are seeing the lives of people affected by leprosy transformed. The video clip of our work and the words of acceptance I was able to share were very warmly received. We give thanks to God for all that He is doing in and through The Mission. Meet one of our youngest fundraisers Dylan, aged nine. Dylan threw off his shoes and didn t put them on again for a whole weekend to raise money for the Feet First campaign - for people affected by leprosy in Mozambique and other African countries. He said he went barefoot because we are lucky, we can make choices. Dylan, who read about leprosy in The Bible, likes raising money for charities. He said: Giving up things makes Refusing to change the habit of a lifetime raising money for people affected by leprosy Olive Holbrook was in church, in Warrington when she heard the story about Jesus healing a man with leprosy. Mark 1:40-42 (NIV). This sparked a lifelong passion for helping people affected by leprosy. When friends and family celebrated her 100th birthday she asked for donations for The Leprosy Mission instead of presents. A picture of Olive on her birthday was sent in by her granddaughter Emma Kerr who said: She is such a beautiful and selfless lady. Not wanting anything for herself on her birthday and instead asking guests to raise money for the charity is typical of my dear gran. Dylan, nine, went barefoot for Feet First me remember how lucky I am. I like to help others. Dylan s barefoot weekend included playing outdoors and going to church where the stone floor was cold. He said: I had to walk slowly first, then it got easier. I was happy to tell people about leprosy. It made me feel closer to Jesus. The Leprosy Mission England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, Goldhay Way, Orton Goldhay, Peterborough PE2 5GZ Tel: post@tlmew.org.uk The Leprosy Mission England and Wales Registered charity no.: Registered company no.: